As we have discussed before knives or edged weapons are one of the most difficult types of weapons to defend against. Today we are going to discuss a particularly dangerous threat, where the attacker has already grabbed you and may be trying to hold you hostage.

Here is the situation:

Someone grabs you from behind and squeezes a knife against your throat. One false move and this dangerous situation can be fatal. Whether they are holding you hostage, or just threatening you from behind, we must be extremely careful and efficient with our movements.

In this situation, like many other threats, the attacker has not decided to slash just yet, and is holding the knife at the throat threatening the fatal attack, or waiting for the moment to kill. This is why we call it a threat, not an attack. However this situation can change to an attack at any split second, so when we decide to defend we must commit all the way and move as explosively as possible.

I cannot defend at the blade of course, so I must explosively ‘pluck’ at the wrists in a similar movement that I make when executing a headlock defense. (Here is a link to the headlock defense blog/video in case you need a refresher: https://enterthedraven.com/2014/02/06/the-rear-naked-choke/ )

From here I must use my body as leverage to ensure that the knife cannot be put back on me, and must not allow the attacker any space so that he can pull the knife away and attack with a stab or slash from another angle (see video below for details). It is crucial that once I get control of the wrist with both of my hands, I do not give any space for the attacker to move the knife. I like to think of making my hands and arms like a boa constrictor, getting tighter every chance I get.

Because of the angle of this attack, and the deadly threat involved, my best counter attack is likely to rotate towards the attacker with the knife pinned to my shoulder and drive it into his body. I only do this if I am sure that his intent is to murder me or others in the room, and if he is clearly fighting to regain control of the knife to use it against me. I then continue into a hand/wrist control and take the weapon away.

This technique is extremely dangerous. Please use this article and the video as a reference guide only, and practice on your own at your Krav Maga training center. Or come practice with me!

Ok, thats all for now, enjoy the video, be safe, and… GO DO SOME KRAV MAGA TODAY!

There is no way of knowing who or when someone will attack you. It is important that we never make any assumptions about an attacker, and if we do assume anything, it should be that we will be at a disadvantage in size, strength, and stress level.

So if the person that attacks me is stronger than me, and faster, and more coordinated, how can I possibly get out of the situation safely? One of the answers to that question is that I need to choose smart and effective counter attacks that will likely illicit a response out of someone regardless of size or strength. I need to make quick movements that are difficult for the eye to perceive, thus making them difficult to defend against. Going after the eyes, throat, groin, and knees are great places to start should you need to fight your way out of a dangerous situation.

One of these attacks, is the front kick to the groin. Sometimes referred to as ‘The Krav Maga Handshake’ (see official pic below!), we use this attack in many situations that require us to defend ourselves. This move is effective, fast, hard to see, and it can do some seriously painful damage!

In this week’s video, we have a special guest instructor Kelly Campbell, who has been known to do some serious damage with her front kick. In this particular scenario, someone has entered her home, and she uses the front kick as an effective weapon to do get an immediate response and then she moves in to finish the fight with other combatives. Often, you can use this kick to buy yourself enough time to run away if that is best way to get out of the situation safely. Every situation is different so the best plan of action is to make the strongest/fastest kick that you can and then assess your surroundings and any imminent threats and make your next decision from there.

Ok, thats all for now. Enjoy the video, be safe… and GO DO SOME KRAV MAGA TODAY!